Gao Family Village

Biodata

Geography & Layout

• Surroundings: Years of drought leave the surrounding land scorched, with withered vegetation and stretches of yellow sand 2.
• Original water sources: A small river beside the village dries up. The well provides enough drinking water but cannot support irrigation 2.
• Route to the County Seat: The journey exceeds thirty li and includes long stretches of mountain paths 12 27.
• Original settlement: The village is small enough that several households can see activity at its entrance through their windows 13.
• Access: Loess Road leads to the village outskirts; after fortification, entry is through an opening in the surrounding wall 22 29.

Buildings & Infrastructure

History

Drought & First Divine Intervention

By the summer of 1627, prolonged drought has made farming impossible. Residents survive by gathering wild plants, bark, and grass roots. Livestock has disappeared as well: no chickens or dogs remain because the villagers cannot feed them 2 18.

Bandits attack the village and kill Gao Yiye’s mother. Li Daoxuan saves Gao Yiye and crushes the remaining attackers with an enormous hand that only she can see 2.

He subsequently provides a giant boiled egg, rice, cabbage, chicken, and salt. The village chief divides the early gifts among the forty-two residents, while Gao Yiye conveys their gratitude and Li Daoxuan’s instructions 5 6 11 18.

Tax Collectors & Outside Knowledge

Yamen runners arrive to demand overdue taxes, forcing the villagers to hide their new rice supply. Gao Yiye persuades Li Daoxuan not to kill the constables, fearing that their deaths would cause the entire village to be branded rebellious. He instead frightens the five men into leaving and orders them to remain silent 6 8.

When Li Daoxuan asks about their country and world, the villagers cannot answer. The chief sends Gao Chuwu and three young men to obtain the magistrate’s secretary, San Shier. They knock him unconscious when he refuses to accompany them; after his arrival, he identifies the date as the seventh month of Tianqi’s seventh year 9 12 13.

Water, Fortification & Recruitment

Li Daoxuan’s next objective is to make the villagers capable of growing food and protecting themselves. He supplies a reservoir, iron for armor, and a surrounding wall, while the residents begin irrigation work and organize guards 15 16 21 22.

People from neighboring Wang Family Village secretly take water from the reservoir. Rather than punish them, Li Daoxuan replenishes the water and leaves flour for them. Their leader, Wang Er, attributes the gift to Gao Family Village and vows to repay its kindness 19 20.

Amid unrest in the County Seat, Gao Chuwu escorts San Shier’s wife, daughter, servant, and maid to safety in the village. They are housed in a home left vacant after its occupants were killed by bandits. San Shier then brings Li Da to teach the villagers metalworking 25 26 27.

Population Growth & Official Scrutiny

After rebelling and killing Magistrate Zhang Yaocai, Wang Er arrives with hundreds of followers and offers two cartloads of grain. Li Daoxuan wants to avoid implicating the village in the rebellion. San Shier declines the offer diplomatically, arguing that the fugitives need the grain more than the village does 29 30.

San Shier later brings in 102 refugees, requiring them to work in exchange for food. Their arrival exposes a shortage of housing, and they initially sleep on dry grass at the foot of the wall 33.

When Cheng Xu and his soldiers threaten the settlement, Li Daoxuan plays ghostly laughter and temporarily removes the wall, reservoir, and other objects. The frightened soldiers flee, after which he restores the structures 36.

Defense Against the Supreme Wisdom King

Mister Bai and survivors from White Family Fort flee into Gao Family Village with bandits pursuing them. Li Daoxuan raises a sandstorm to delay the attackers, allowing the refugees to reach the gate 42.

The bandits demand ten shi of grain and threaten to destroy the settlement. The villagers refuse, and Mister Bai takes command of the defense. Li Daoxuan supplies plastic catapults, which the residents regard as immortal weapons 43 44 45 46.

Nearly a thousand bandits attack with ladders and a battering ram. Catapult stones disrupt their advance; defenders throw rocks and boiling oil from the wall, while Li Daoxuan shields them from arrows. Zheng Daniu kills One Blade after Li Daoxuan immobilizes the bandit’s saber 47 48 49.

The attackers retreat. To prevent future ambushes against villagers traveling outside the walls, Li Daoxuan crushes the fleeing Supreme Wisdom King and nearby bandits, leaving a vast handprint in the ground 49.

Population & Administration

Population Changes

Organization & Supplies

• Early authority: The village chief leads through age and reputation rather than a formal chain of command 31.
• Initial distribution: Households divide divine gifts and take their shares home, leaving extra for Gao Yiye. Supplies are not centrally managed, and some residents secretly take additional portions 31 39.
• San Shier’s reforms: Food allocation becomes recorded and orderly. He also helps arrange accommodation, recruitment, and defensive preparations 31 33 39.
• Work requirement: Recruited refugees receive food on the condition that they obey the Heavenly Venerable’s instructions and contribute labor 33.
• Rewarded work: Sculptors receive extra pork for their statues; Zheng Daniu earns cola by bringing timber for another statue. The sculptors later hire villagers to build shelters for their families 39 40.
• Food preservation: Residents grind salt crystals, slice meat into strips, and salt and dry it; the sculptors also cure and smoke their rewarded pork 18 39.

Religion

• Divine intermediary: Gao Yiye alone can see Li Daoxuan’s enormous hand and relays his words to the village. She later holds the position of Holy Maiden 2 9 43 48.
• Honored title: During communal worship, Li Daoxuan gives his name; Third Madam declares his title to be Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable 31.
• Ceremonies: Li Da and Gao Yiyi forge a makeshift bell, while Third Madam prepares Gao Yiye for worship. The temple celebration features clean clothing, orderly ranks, and Gao Yiye in white robes 31 41.
• Religious origin: The village’s worship begins a religion described as later spreading across the land 31.

Defenses & Armaments

Notable Residents & Associates

• Li Daoxuan — Patron, supplier, and protector; seeks to make the village self-sufficient rather than merely keep it fed 15 16.
• Gao Yiye — Resident and Holy Maiden who communicates the Heavenly Venerable’s commands 9 43.
• Village chief — Elder responsible for early food division, recruitment orders, and guard arrangements 5 9 22.
• Gao Chuwu — Carries out missions to the County Seat, helps recruit outsiders, and fights in the village’s defense 12 22 25 48.
• San Shier — Former magistrate’s secretary who becomes a principal organizer and spokesman 13 30 39 43.
• Third Madam — San Shier’s wife; takes refuge with their daughter and helps establish religious ceremonies 25 31 41.
• Gao Yiyi — Original village blacksmith and one of its Stone-Thrower operators 21 47.
• Li Da — Recruited blacksmith tasked with teaching armor production; operates the Stone-Throwers alongside Gao Yiyi 27 47.
• Zheng Daniu — Supplies statue timber and helps defend the walls; kills One Blade during the siege 39 48 49.
• Mister Bai — Refugee from White Family Fort who organizes and commands the village’s defense 42 44.
• Wang Er of Baishui — Neighboring villager and later rebel leader who seeks to repay the settlement for water and flour 20 29 30.